NAVY UPDATES MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION RULE

The Navy is updating a rule that governs how it protects marine life during training and testing off the coasts of Hawaii and California, and will take public comment on the changes through March 11.

The rule, published last month in the Federal Register, revises previous regulations of Navy activities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Sonar, explosives and other underwater devices can disorient or injure animals such as seals, dolphins and whales. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration doesn’t expect Navy operations to seriously harm or kill many marine mammals, as long as its crews watch closely for the animals and take steps to protect them.

The Navy employs monitors on its vessels to spot marine mammals, and has to suspend activity if the animals show up, said Michelle Magliocca, a fisheries biologist with NOAA.

“If protected species observers on Navy vessels see marine mammals, the vessels shut down their operations or shut down sonar,” Magliocca said. “We also have protected areas for humpback whales. This is an area where the Navy needs special permission to operate during that time of year. There are also stranding response plans in place, and observers coordinate with regional offices if a stranded animal is spotted.”

Nonetheless, the rule acknowledges that some animals can be harmed despite those measures, and sets caps for those accidents.

“Exposure to sonar in certain circumstances has been associated with the stranding of some marine mammals, and some injury or death may occur despite the best efforts of the Navy,” the administration stated. “Therefore, the proposed authorization allows for a small number of incidental mortalities to marine mammals from sonar, as well as vessel strikes and explosions.”

The proposed rule permits no more than 130 deaths of dolphins, seals and sea lions over a five-year period because of Navy training and testing, and up to 25 deaths of beaked or large whales. It also sets limits on harassment, allowing more than 9 million incidents of behavioral change as a result of Navy activities.

A Navy statement said the revised rule includes lower estimates for marine mammal deaths from Navy activity off both California and Hawaii, but greater potential for behavioral disruption off California. That’s because of changes to modeling procedures, and new training and testing protocols, it stated.

In addition, the new rule adds additional areas, Magliocca said, including Hawaii and Southern California ranges, some port areas, and a Pacific transit zone, that weren’t part of the original rule.

“These permits and the Navy’s continuing engagement with NMFS will enable us to carry out our national defense mission while also protecting the natural environment,” Rear Adm. Kevin Slates, director of the Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division, said in a statement.